Although our last days on earth are often riddled with pain and doubt, we are blessed. If you were able to remember, you would see that your first days on earth were riddled with doubt and pain as well. There was that whole “Leaving your comfort zone” thing along with gasping for breath. As you grew into a young child and entered the first grade there was much doubt. Why would your parents desert you with a group of strangers only to change their minds after several hours and take you back home? Then they did it over and over again for days without end. That produced a lot of doubt and insecurity. For some it was accompanied with pain. Few of us have gone through teenage years without these constant companions. Marriage, child bearing, providing for a family, job changes, medical crisis and recoveries all seem to have been filled with the ever present pain and doubt twins.
We doubt the intention of others to do us good. We wonder why the emotional scars seem to last so long. When we are fortunate enough to realize He is there, we seek refuge in the loving embrace of our creator as the ones who have promised to hold us forever have let slip. Yet even He seems to have embraced the presence of the cruelty which we have assumed was solely our human experience. The cross did not eliminate pain and doubt. It forever rendered them ineffectual in measuring our existence. He is risen and has removed all pain and doubt from the victory we possess in the final moments of life. It is not the pain and doubt which have conquered and won. It is the love of our creator who has used these enemies to draw us back to Himself.
Why then have we been subject to these bearers of hardship? When was it that we invited these unwanted guests into the feast of our lives? Who decided they were necessary? What purpose then have pain and doubt served? Who could possibly know my level of angst? We do not appear to be alone in these experiences or the questions. Adam and Eve, King David, Jonah and the Apostle Paul are but a few of the large crowd of folks whose lives were greatly tried by God and yet were greatly used for His glory. Even His Son is described as a man acquainted with sorrows and grief. As everybody has breath and a beating heart, so every soul knows these as frequent companions. Yet the questions remain; Questions which defy our understanding of logic as we see it. Why do they come? What did I do? Who is responsible for this? How could I have avoided? When will they go away? But most important, what profit is there in this?
That’s a lot of questions without answers. We often seem to leave them there and move on in life without satisfying this most basic curiosity. In truth I wonder if we really want to know or if we just want to move on. If we know, can we do anything to prevent them from coming back? Or is it inevitable, preordained and inescapable? Answers; enough with the questions we all have. How about a few answers? In the His, “God in Heaven”, eternal view, we have no problem saying this is good for us. Yet we in our human experience and limited view of eternal things seriously question the specific necessities of these two companions. It hurts. It hurts a lot. It hurts to be used and cast aside after false promises. It hurts to suffer the physical injuries caused by a cosmic necessity to direct our paths. It hurts because it is pain. Pain is the method of the body warning our mind of existing or potential danger to continued life.
Sometimes we doubt the source of pain actually has our best interests at heart. Sometimes we doubt our ability to overcome the pain. Often we cry out in the midst of that pain for relief. If the cry only lands upon human ears, it is unlikely that an effectual resolution can be provided. But, if it rises to the ears of the One is has created all, then we are assured that the maker of all can remake all He has made to accomplish His purpose and bring Him the glory which is rightfully His. Three important notes at this juncture: 1 – It matters greatly if God hears every cry. 2 – God hears every cry. 3 – It does not matter if you believe God hears every cry. The Bible declares that God works all things after the counsel of His own will. It also says that He made our circumstances according to the good pleasure of His will, which He has purposed in Himself.
So let’s put it in simple terms. If He allows it, He has a purpose in it. If it happens, it is a part of His plan for your good. Since He inhabits the praises of His people, we can draw Him closer by praising Him in the most difficult circumstances. If we are in pain we may question the goodness of our circumstances. If we question His goodness then we doubt He is really the loving all sufficient God He claims to be. If doubt and fear enter in then pain is victorious until faith becomes our victory. As we age and spend more time trusting Him and seeing His faithfulness, we doubt less and we doubtless know Him as our victory. Although our last days on earth are often riddled with pain and doubt, we are blessed.